Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Alice books by Lewis Carroll. The 13th of Disney's animated features, the film premiered in New York City and London on July 26, 1951. The film features the voices of Kathryn Beaumont as Alice, Sterling Holloway as Cheshire Cat, Verna Felton as the Queen of Hearts and Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter. Walt Disney first attempted unsuccessfully to adapt Alice into an animated feature film during the 1930s. However, he finally revived the idea in the 1940s. The film was originally intended to be a live-action/animated film, however, Disney decided to make it an all-animated feature in 1946. The theme song of the same name has since become a jazz standard. While the film was critically panned on its initial release, the movie proved to be ahead of its time and has since been regarded as one of Disney's greatest animated classics, notably one of the biggest cult classics in the animation medium, as well as one of the best film adaptations of Alice. Plot On a golden spring day at the riverbank, Alice grows bored listening to her sister read aloud from a history book. When her sister prevents Alice from daydreaming, Alice tells her kitten Dinah that she would rather live in a nonsensical magical land called Wonderland. While daydreaming, Alice spots a waistcoat-wearing White Rabbit passing by, exclaiming that he is late for an important date. Alice gives chase and follows him into a large, furnished rabbit hole. Alice's dress catches her fall like a parachute, and she floats gently down. Seeing the White Rabbit disappears into a tiny door, Alice tries to follow him but is too big for the door...whose talking knob advises her to alter her size using a mysterious bottle marked Drink Me. The contents cause her to shrink rapidly. Unfortunately, the door is locked and the key is out of reach. Alice then treats herself to a cookie that says Eat Me and expands large tears which flood the room like an ocean. Another drink from the bottle causes Alice to shrink again; the doorknob is forced to let her through or drown in Alice tears. Alice floats through the door's keyhole and into Wonderland. She meets numerous strange characters: the Dodo; followed by Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who recount the tale of The Walrus and the Carpenter. Alice eventually tracks the White Rabbit to his house; she is sent to retrieve some gloves after being mistaken for his housemaid. She eats a cookie and grows into a giant again, getting stuck in the Rabbit's house. The White Rabbit, the Dodo and chimney sweep Bill the Lizard think Alice is a monster. They plot to burn the house down, but Alice escapes by eating a carrot and shrinking to the size of an insect. She meets a garden of talking flowers who initially welcome her with a song, but then suddenly mistake Alice for a weed and chase her off. Alice is instructed by Caterpillar to eat a piece of his mushroom so that she can return to her original size. Alice keeps the remaining pieces of the mushroom on hand. Alice meets the Cheshire Cat. He recommends that she visit the Mad Hatter, March Hare and the Dormouse. The three are hosting a mad tea party and celebrate Alice's unbirthday. The White Rabbit appears, but the Mad Hatter and the March Hare destroy his pocketwatch. They eject the White Rabbit from the party. Fed up with the nonsense surrounding her, Alice abandons her pursuit of the White Rabbit in order to go home. She gets lost in the Tulgey Wood. Fearing she is lost forever, Alice breaks down into tears. The Cheshire Cat reappears and leads Alice into a giant hedge maze ruled by the tyrannical Queen of Hearts and her meek husband, the King of Hearts. The Queen orders the beheading of anyone who enrages her, particularly a trio of gardeners who accidentally planted white roses instead of red ones. Alice is invited (read: forced) to play the Queen in a bizarre croquet match; both contestants use flamingos and hedgehogs as the equipment. The Cheshire Cat appears again and pulls a trick on the Queen, for which she blames Alice. The girl is arrested and put on trial, unfairly judged and convicted. Suddenly, Alice remembers that she still has the remains of the Caterpillar's mushroom and consumes both halves. Immediately becoming a giantess, Alice makes it very clear what she really thinks of the Queen. However, she returns to her normal size just as rapidly. Enraged, the Queen orders her execution. Alice flees and is pursued by most of Wonderland's characters, until she finally reunites with the Doorknob. Alice begs the talking doorknob to let her through. He informs her that she's having a dream. Alice wakes herself up just in time. Now realizing that logic and reason exist for a purpose, Alice walks home with her sister and Dinah for tea. Category:1951 films Category:1950s American animated films Category:American musical films Category:Films produced by Walt Disney Category:Films directed by Clyde Geronimi Category:Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Category:Films directed by Hamilton Luske Category:Film scores by Oliver Wallace Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation Cast * Kathryn Beaumont as Alice * Ed Wynn as Mad Hatter * Jerry Colonna as March Hare * Richard Haydn as Caterpillar * Sterling Holloway as Cheshire Cat * Verna Felton as Queen of Hearts * J. Pat O'Malley as Tweedledum, Tweedledee, the Walrus, the Carpenter and Mother Oyster * Bill Thompson as White Rabbit and the Dodo * Heather Angel as Alice's sister * Joseph Kearns as Doorknob * Larry Grey as Bill the Lizard and Card Painter * Queenie Leonard as A Bird in a Tree and Snooty Flower * Dink Trout as King of Hearts * Doris Lloyd as The Rose * Jimmy MacDonald as Dormouse * The Mellomen (Thurl Ravenscroft, Bill Lee, Max Smith and Bob Hamlin) as Card Painters * Don Barclay as Other Cards * Mel Blanc (uncredited) as Dinah/Wonderland creatures * Lucille Bliss (uncredited) as Flowers * Pinto Colvig (uncredited) as Flamingos * Tommy Luske (uncredited) as Young Pansy * Marni Nixon (uncredited) as Singing Flowers * Norma Zimmer (uncredited) as White Rose Songs * Alice in Wonderland (performed by Chorus) * In a World of My Own (performed by Kathryn Beaumont) * I'm Late (performed Bill Thompson) * The Sailor's Hornpipe (performed by Bill Thompson) * Row Row Row Your Boat (traditional) * The Caucus Race (performed by Bill Thompson and Chorus) * How Do You Do And Shake Hands (performed by J. Pat O'Malley) * The Walrus and the Carpenter (performed by J. Pat O'Malley) * Old Father William (performed by J. Pat O'Malley) * We'll Smoke the Blighter Out (performed by Bill Thompson) * All in a Golden Afternoon (performed by Kathryn Beaumont and Chorus) * A E I O U (performed by Richard Haydn) * 'Twas Brillig (performed by Sterling Holloway) * A Very Merry Un-birthday (performed by Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna with Kathryn Beaumont) * Very Good Advice (performed by Kathryn Beaumont) * Painting the Roses Red (performed by The Mellomen and Kathryn Beaumont) * March of the Cards * Who's Been Painting My Roses Red? (performed by Verna Felton) * A Very Merry Unbirthday Reprise (performed by Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna with Verna Felton and chorus * The Caucus Race Reprise (performed by Chorus) * Alice in Wonderland Finale (performed by Chorus) International releases For information about international dubs and releases, Alice in Wonderland/International.Category:1951 films Category:1950s American animated films Category:American musical films Category:Films produced by Walt Disney Category:Films directed by Clyde Geronimi Category:Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Category:Films directed by Hamilton Luske Category:Film scores by Oliver Wallace Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation